NEWS
IN BRIEF

Humanitarian crisis in Sudan

The recent escalation of violence in Darfur, western Sudan, has led to a humanitarian crisis with thousands of people fleeing into the desert. Three million people remain beyond the reach of aid. Lack of access to food, water and medical facilities is threatening the survival of many, report Médecins Sans Frontières and the UN World Food Progamme.

The crisis follows the breakdown of peace talks in mid-December. The ensuing deterioration of security and collapse of law have prevented agencies from operating in the province — one of the most inhospitable regions in the world. According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, access to most areas outside the region's three state capitals — Nyala, El Geneina and El Fasher — is impaired by daily incidents of militarized violence on major roads and routes. The prevalence of landmines is also complicating efforts to deliver aid.

UN Emergency Relief Coordinator, Jan Egeland, praised the delivery of aid to the region but warned that aid workers "are still not reaching the majority of those in need."

The UN World Food Programme (WFP), which began an airlift of 500 metric tonnes of sorghum into the region in mid-February, described the situation for displaced people in the region as "deplorable." Many have lost all their possessions and are living in the open without any facilities. Although huge numbers of people are injured, there is no medical care, said WFP staff.

"It is a very, very alarming situation," said Getachew Diriba, WFP Senior Programme Officer for Sudan, who had recently visited the region with a delegation from the European Union. "No matter how seriously wounded they are, there is hardly anything to alleviate their suffering."

Médecins Sans Frontières reported that 17 000 people who have recently gathered in the north-west of the province do not have enough access to drinking water, food or medical assistance to ensure their survival.